each year, since 1988, the tate archive and library in london has commissioned an
important contemporary artist to decorate a christmas tree for display in its grand rotunda.
we have been presented with some strange ideas, which has been all in good fun and part
of the christmas spirit.


tate britain's 2009 christmas tree by tacita dean
images © getty images
photos by oli scarff

tacita dean's 2009 christmas tree, has turned out to be, imagine this... 'christmassy'.
entitled 'weihnachtsbaum', the candle lit tree was on view at the tate britain from
december 11th until december 23rd, 2009. the 4-metre-high nordman fir was decorated
with specially made candles. for the course of the two weeks, the candles were lit everyday
at 4pm and were designed to slowly die out at 6pm when the museum closed.

previous artists have included sarah lucas' 2006 tree, in which she presented the tate
with a pagan-themed piece of timber. cherubs made of stretched stockings and wire,
complete with anatomically correct genitalia 'multiplied' throughout the tree. this chorus
of fairies represented the classical tradition of eros, venus and cupid descending from the
heavens to bedevil mortals via hopeless erotic adventures.

tracey emin's 2002 'tree' wasn't a tree at all. instead, it was a booth made of canvas.
emin donated the actual tree to lighthouse west london, a charitable organization which
serves patients with HIV and AIDS. in its place was a panel asking museum patrons to
make a donation to the charity in exchange for a raffle ticket. a lucky donor won a valuable
prize at the end: an original artwork by emin.

in 1996, julian opie decided not to simply decorate a tree, but created a forest by constructing
a number of model trees constructed from two intersecting planes of wood. highly stylized,
the pieces resembled over-sized children's toys and evoked the feeling of a forest.


weihnachtsbaum, 2009 by tacita dean
image © tacita dean
photo courtesy sam drake / tate photography




portrait of tacita dean with weihnachtsbaum, 2009
image © tacita dean
photo courtesy sam drake / tate photography

tacita dean, who lives in berlin, drew inspiration for her tree from the way christmas
is celebrated in germany:
'I was struck when I arrived in berlin by the simplicity of christmas there. I felt the germans
had managed to hold onto something of its purity and magic despite commercial pressures.
they have a great tradition of christmas decorations and are still unafraid to have real candles
on their trees. it was fascinating to learn that the origin of the bauble stemmed from the spherical
weight hanging beneath the holder that kept the candle upright. as many of my films encompass
twilight and the transition from day to night, it seems appropriate to light the candles at this
moment of each day.' - TD